Apple gets board seat at Didi Chuxing following $1b investment

Apple has been granted a board seat at Didi Chuxing after its $1 billion investment in the China-based taxi hailing service earlier this year, according to a recent regulatory filing spotted by The Information.

See also

Apple in the Enterprise: A Strategic Guide

Once a pariah in the enterprise, Apple has quietly emerged as a darling of executives and professionals because of the ease of use of the iPhone and the iPad. We look at how the influx of Apple devices is changing the tech landscape in business.

Read now

Apple mergers and acquisitions chief Adrian Perica will represent the company on Didi Chuxing's board.

While Didi Chuxing said the $1 billion investment was its single largest, it wasn't previously clear if Apple would receive a seat at the "Uber of China".

Perica joined Didi's board with Stephen Zhu, Didi's head of strategy. The duo filled slots left vacant by Didi co-founder Wang Gang and Lu Chuanwei, former CEO of competitor Kuaidi Dache, which merged with Didi in 2015, reported The Information.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said in May that Apple's investment would help the firm better understand the local Chinese market. It's also been speculated Apple could form strategic partnerships with Didi Chuxing for its rumored car project.

Perica, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, handled Apple's acquisition of Beats, among other purchases.

Uber sold its China operations to Didi Chuxing in late July.

See also

Internet of things: Sillier and scarier and coming your way

How many software updates does it take to change a light bulb? What happens when a blast furnace gets hacked? Seriously: Security looms as the elephant in all of our IoT rooms.

Read now